Faithful and Available
God doesn’t need superheroes or extraordinary people to accomplish His purposes. He uses ordinary people who are faithful and available. Cadence staff Jeff Walton shared a story that illustrates this point. He and his wife Candace run the Humphreys Hospitality House in Korea.
One thing that continues to amaze Candace and me is how God works through those who attend our house ministry, not just us. One man, in particular, is relatively new to Korea and still processing through a hard breakup that occurred right before he came.
On Christmas, he told us he didn’t really want to be around a large group of people but knew he needed to be with others. He ended up retreating to our third floor to nap for a while, then ate a lot of food and poured out his heart to one guy for hours. He also connected with another guy and talked with him for a long time. It was great to see this man relax, be encouraged by other Christian men, see others pray for him with their arms around him, and then see him leave with closer friendships than when he arrived.
Candace and I did nothing but provide a safe place for people to come and fellowship together. God used others to show love to this hurting man in our own home. Praise the Lord! This story is the reason we love hospitality ministry so much. As we disciple, build up, feed, encourage, and present the gospel to our group each week, our members, in turn, do the same for others. They have been shown a godly example and are now going out and serving others because of the community built on Jesus.
We know we don’t need to be a part of every conversation, help solve every problem, or speak the right word of encouragement to others at the right time. God uses more people than just Candace and me. He raises up His Church here in our ministry, and they take care of each other. We create a space where people are brought together so that the Holy Spirit can work through the Body. It is God’s ministry, not ours. We just feel privileged to be on the front lines to see what God is doing.
—Jeff and Candace Walton are House Directors at Humphreys Hospitality House in Korea. Excerpt from January 2024 newsletter.
Read more stories here.